Many of us Android enthusiasts are simply bored with the basic software experience OEMs put on our smartphones and tablets. This is why so many of us flash custom kernels, custom ROMs, and various mods to change the look and functionality of the devices that cost us hundreds of dollars. XDA Recognized Themer Ticklefish felt the same way and wanted to add a little animated GIF to the home button on the software navigation bar. Now, this guide does require you to have root access to the phone, and it also requires you to decompile the SystemUI.apk, make some changes, and then recompile the same file before putting it back where it belongs.

The result is an animated GIF file that plays on loop in place of your home button. The demo image below shows a little tabby cat running in place, but Tickefish has also included other GIFs for you to pick through, including a couple of flags, Ryu from Street Fighter, and Stitch from Lilo and Stitch.

home button gif

Learn more about how to add an animated GIF as your navbar home button